If you want to design effective marketing postcards, then aim for "Refrigerator Door Mindshare."

By this, I mean that you should create a card that someone would be proud to display on his or her refrigerator door.

The image on the front of your postcard should be simple, but attractive. I?ve found that brightly colored cards pull a better response than dark, moody cards. Save your artistic angst for some other medium.

You should also create an image that?s easily comprehended. Why? Because your recipients will only give your cards a one- or two-second glance before deciding to keep them or throw them away.

Think billboard. A billboard must get its point across quickly?because people are driving by at high rates of speed. It also must be memorable.

So, here's a homework assignment, the next time you're out and about, look at the billboards. Advertisers are paying good money to put them up, so why not use them as a source of free design ideas?

Now, ask yourself a couple of questions:

1. Which billboards are memorable?
2. Which billboards are forgettable?

You can also do the same thing with advertising you see in bus and train stations, or in airports.

You may have noticed this when you've been sending postcards, or doing some other form of marketing. Your responders will fall into one of the following groups:

1. People who respond right away.
2. People who respond several weeks, months, or even years later.

You may get a lot of "right away" responders, which is the desired result of most marketing activities, but you'll still get replies from people who've saved your postcards.

And "keeper cards" are a good thing. Why? Because if your recipients are keeping what you?re sending out, chances are good that they?ll eventually do business with you.